VIDEO

Ilayaraja puts on hold music contracts

Thursday, 20 August 2015

PTI

Chennai: Music maestro Ilayaraja has given an undertaking in the Madras High Court that he would not enter into any further contracts till the trial is over in a civil suit with regard to copyright for his compositions.

Recording the undertaking yesterday, the bench, comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice T S Sivagnanam, appointed retired district judge B Gokuldas as local commissioner to record the evidence in the suit and directed that the exercise be completed in three months.

The bench was hearing appeals by Agi Music of Malaysia and Echo Recording Company Private Ltd against the order of a single judge, R Subbaiah, who had on 3 March made the injunction absolute on Ilayaraja’s civil suit to restrain five audio recording companies from making and selling his film music compositions as it violates his copyright.

The bench directed counsel for Iayaraja,who has composed music for more than 4,500 songs since 1970, and the recording companies to file written statements within two weeks from today and replication, if any, two weeks thereafter.

It also directed that the suits be listed before the single judge on September 22 for framing of the issues.

Ilayaraja had filed a petition seeking to restrain Agi Music private Limited, Echo Recording Company Pvt Ltd, Unisys info Solutions Pvt Ltd, Agi Music sdn bhd, Malaysia, and Giri Trading Company, Mumbai, from manufacturing, selling, distributing or in any manner infringing his exclusive right under the Copyright Act-1957.

Earlier, the court had granted interim injunction in the matter.

Ilayaraja’s counsel had submitted that his client had not given copyright to any company through his wife, as claimed by the companies

Even for the sake of argument, without admitting the assignment alleged to have been given by the deceased wife of the applicant, it would have expired in 2012, as such permissions are valid only for five years, he had said.

He had noted that these companies had no right to exploit the music composed by Ilayaraja and if injunction was not granted, that might lead to irreparable injury to him.